Steve Coll Explores Bin Ladens

Forum Introduction

		In his book "The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century," Steve Coll chronicles the lives and fortunes of the family from which Osama bin Laden came. He answers your questions here.

Are the Bushes linked to the bin Ladens? Why were bin Laden family members flown out of the U.S. after 9/11?

What happened to Osama bin Laden's older brother?

If Osama bin Laden removes the U.S. from Saudi Arabia, etc., can he create the new caliphate in this modern world?

How could Osama bin Laden's father have the influence you allege given his death when the child was but 9 years old?

How do you feel the U.S. entry into the Gulf War affected our relations with Arab countries?

How many of the bin Ladens' other 53 children of Mohammed have joined or support Osama?

What is, in your view, Osama bin Laden's ultimate goal?

You describe how the bin Ladens changed during the 1980s. What were the rest of us typically doing?


	Suzanne S. of Emerald Hills, Calif., asks:

	If Osama bin Laden is successful in removing U.S. from Saudi Arabia, etc., do you think he could be successful in creating the new caliphate in this modern world? Aren't his other family [members] more representative of where modern Islam is today?

Steve Coll responds:

Hardly anyone in the Middle East wants to live in a caliphate run by Osama bin Laden. A recent poll in Pakistan, for example, showed there is still some sympathy for Osama among a minority -- his approval rating is 24 percent -- but when asked if they would vote for Osama if his name were on a ballot, only 1 percent said yes. I do agree that his other family members are much more representative of where modern Islam is today.



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